kttraveler

I walked by a couple times today and there has always been a line. I will keep my eyes open and if they are free I will ask.

Tonight’s menu and tomorrows patters.

If you want to venture out on your own the train station was right across from the ship. The signs advertise you will be in cork in 24 minutes. If you have little ones there are parks a short walk from both ends of the ship. I walked around Cobh when I got back from my excursion and it was quaint. If you stay in the pier area you can visit the Queensland heritage museum or titanic experience. Since I am doing something similar in a couple stops I decided to not spend the money. My parents were booked on a handicap excursion east cork drive. They were in a van so no steps. They had a fabulous driver and your guide. It was very well done. The dinner menu and tomorrows patter will be posted soon.

Dinner was good and the show was fabulous. Luckily I went to the early one and was back in my room when the medical announcement was made. I took a princess excursion to Blarney Castle and wish I had just struck out on my own. Public transport didn’t appear to come to the castle and it seemed like a must do when I was looking at what to do. I didn’t kiss the stone. The gardens were beautiful and I enjoyed exploring. Our bus guide was very informative.

Tomorrows patters

It was the concerto dining room. That’s also where we eat breakfast and dinner so it’s the one I know the best now.

First formal night menu!

I took off to Guernsey on my own. The tender ride was smooth. I used bus 71 to go to the underground hospital. There was a bit of a wait for the bus and a long line to get on. Not everyone waiting made it onto the bus so if you plan to use public transport check the schedules, be early, and get in line. The underground hospital was very interesting and easy to do self guided. The walk from there to the little chapel took me about fifteen minutes and wasn’t strenuous. The little chapel also doesn’t take long but is very interesting to see. I timed it well and caught bus 71 back to town. I ate a sandwich and walked from the bus terminal to Castle Cornet before getting in line to tender back to the ship. Total cost for today without food was just under 20 pounds. If I add in lunch I still did it for under 40 pounds, much less than a princess excursion. If you have mobility issue there are lots of cobblestone roads and everything you want to get to is up hill. Princess will get you right to the door and get you back to the ship more directly than public transport. We were supposed to be back on the ship by 3:30. I was in line for the tender at 2 pm and got on the tender at 3:30. It is 4:15 I am still watching tenders arrive. Tonight is a formal night and I am looking forward to the show Bravo. I will post the dinner menu in a bit.

We did not try to go to the museum. By the time we arrived just getting to the hotel was enough of an adventure. Luckily the weather today is beautiful and tenders are running. I will be heading out after breakfast.

Embarkation was remarkable smooth. We went to the main dining room for lunch to avoid the buffet crowd which can be hard to manage in a wheelchair. Soon after we finished lunch we were able to head to our rooms. My luggage was already there and my parents arrived a couple hours later. We unpacked and I went to the single cruisers meet before dinner. I am posting the lunch and dinner menus. My favorite was the potato soup. Today and tomorrow patter will follow in the next post. The weather looks good for guernsey tomorrow so I am hopeful I will be able to go exploring.

Sadly a light fell off our plane on the way here from Greece so we now have a three hour delay while they put a new light back on. Hopefully we still leave tonight. Glad we have that extra day built in. The imperial war museum is probably not going to happen now.

I've had a great time following along as others posted live about their adventures so I've decided to give it a try myself. My parents and I are flying out this evening and will be arriving at Heathrow Tuesday morning. We plan on taking the Heathrow express to Paddington and spending the night at a Premiere Inn. We hope to squeeze in a visit to the Imperial War museum. We have a private transfer to the ship Wednesday morning. I will do my best to post menus and patters. My mother uses a wheelchair so I will also try to highlight what works and doesn't work for those with mobility issues. I'm not a drinker so I won't be able to answer your questions about wines and such. My parents will be taking several princess excursions. I am only signed up for one to Blarney Castle. We have a couple private excursions and I will be heading out on my own at several ports using public transportation. I've amended my plans based on what others have posted so hopefully I can help people like I've been helped. Feel free to ask me questions as I go and I will do my best to answer. Time to pack those last minute things and start my adventure!

I've never tried to use medallion to communicate with my family on board. Usually we have enough wifi that we each had one working device and could use that to communicate. If you use your cell phone on the ship you risk being charged for using the ships very expensive cell service. Be very careful that you are close enough to shore to not be charged for the ship cell signal.

I do miss the promenade but with so few ship days I will get in plenty of walking.

It will be my second time and I love this ship, although I do miss having Skywalkers. That is such a quiet place during the day with an excellent view.

Thanks for doing this! My parents and I will be getting on as you disembark. My mother uses a wheelchair and her excursions have been advertised as wheelchair accessible. Usually the easy excursions still involve steps on the bus but I am hoping since they say wheelchair accessible the busses will have lifts. If you notice excursion busses with lifts I'd love to know it.

That is so great to hear! I'll be doing that in just a couple weeks.

It does sound very expensive and a short changing of a major tourist destination. Paris seems like it would be worth more than a drive by. I would also worry about being a pier runner going so far from the ship on my own though. Tough decisions if Paris is high on your to do list.

That large size is for sure for American tourists.

That I didn’t try. Thanks!

I posted there first. I'm not really looking to get a group together just recommendations for tours others have been on and I know a few people following this thread have already done these ports.

Just got an email from Timberbush Tour letting me know the Outlander tour from Edinburgh I had paid for has been cancelled (I will be on the regal in a couple weeks). If anyone following this thread did or has planned an outlander tour with a different group please let me know since I am looking for different options now.

Thank you! Added to my itinerary!

What stop did you get off to go to the college? I have Book of Kells tickets for 9:30 so I want that to be my first stop and then get on the HOHO.

Man that looks good!